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ITV Report

14 September 2012 at 1:05pm

Swansea and Cardiff in action this weekend

Both teams back in action this weekend Photo: ITV News Wales

One thing is certain - the supporters of our two major clubs will hope for far better fortunes than those enjoyed by the Welsh international team in Serbia in midweek. And to be fair, it's difficult to argue that either the current Swans or Bluebirds team would have been beaten quite so badly in Novi Sad.

As it is, Swansea could leave almost £11million of new talent on the bench at Aston Villa tomorrow, with manager Michael Laudrup insisting he won't hesitate to name both Pablo Hernandez and Ki Sung-Yueng among the substitutes. And that's purely because the midfield players in possession have performed so well in an unbeaten start to the Premier League campaign.

It's in defence that selection could be a little more difficult, with Chico Flores suspended and the injured Neil Taylor out for the season. Gary Monk is also sidelined, so recent arrival Dwight Tiendalli could come in at full-back, although 19-year-old Ben Davies may hang on to the shirt, while there should be a rare appearance for Alan Tate.

Meanwhile, Malky Mackay is coming to terms with a brand new problem at Cardiff City - just how does he fit so many gifted players into his line-up? After making do and mending with a threadbare squad last season, he now has so much talent at his disposal that the new game for Bluebirds fans is "Name Your Best Team."

City, so impressive in beating Wolves last time out, do face a tough test at home to Leeds, who've started so well under canny campaigner Neil Warnock. There was good news today, though, with the announcement that Craig Bellamy is likely to be part of tomorrow's squad. Bellamy has been at the subject of stories about a troubled personal life, but he has at least put recent fitness problems behind him.